I'll bet
by Iamsecretlynot
Summary: In which the High Kings and Queen decide the fate of their cousins love life.


Edmund stared out the window. Another typical deary london day complete with dark clouds and rain. It was downpouring outside, the deluge creating massive rain puddles. A cracking fire warmed his back as thunder rumbled in the distance.

It reminded him of the day Lucy found Narnia. Trapped inside Professor Kirke's house, playing hide and go seek behind the curtains. Wishing that he could be anywhere but there.

Peter was working and Aslan only knows where Susan could be. It was just him and Lucy in the house today.

They'd retreated to the warmest room, the library, and made themselves comfortable. Edmund had claimed the window seat and Lucy had curled up in armchair, complete with blankets and the _Hobbit._ She'd assured him that it was a great book. Which was nice to know, but it would be better if she finished it so that he could actually read it.

Motion in the yard drew his attention out the window. He squinted. Yes, that was Pole and Scrubb. No umbrella and no rain gear. They stood shoulder to shoulder and allowed the rain to pour down onto their heads.

"They're going to catch pneumonia at this rate." He grumbled.

Lucy looked up from her book. "Who are?"

Edmund motioned out the window. "Jill and Scrubb! They're outside in this mess."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Jill and Scrubb?"

"Who else?"

She flipped a page. "Interesting."

Edmund frowned. She was using _that_ voice. The same voice she used when Gregory Murphy walked Susan home. He turned and faced her. "Alright, what's up?"

She set down her book and joined him in staring out into the mist. "I'd bet five pounds that they're sweet on each other." Lucy said.

Edmund glanced at her. "What, Jill and Eustace?"

She nodded and gestured outside. "Just look at them."

He looked. Jill threw her head and arms back, spinning in circles around Eustace. He dodged her and then promptly slipped and fell back into a puddle. She stopped spinning and bent over him. They exchanged some words and then Eustace yanked her down beside him.

Jill sputtered and whacked him in the face with mud. He scrambled to get away from her and the yard sounded with their laughter.

"Looks like friends to me." Edmund said.

Lucy shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What, is there something I'm supposed to see?"

"Just look harder." Lucy urged.

Edmund sighed, but he looked out again.

Jill was holding Eustace's face and smearing mud over it. He tried to squirm out of her grip, but she held him tighter.

"She's a lot like Eustace." He said. "Bit of an ass at first, but she grows on you."

Lucy leaned against the glass. "She must of been a sight to see in Narnia. Can you imagine?"

He could imagine. From the stories Eustace had told him, Jill sounded like a warrior. Maybe she fell a few times, but she preserved. She survived Narnia, the Experiment House, and won over Scrubb. If that wasn't something, Edmund didn't know what wasn't. That feisty girl could drag Eustace to the ends of the Earth if the boy wasn't careful.

"I still don't see him being sweet on her though." He said.

"What, Jill?" Peter asked entering the room. Lucy flew to his side and gave him a big hug. Edmund clasped his brothers hand. "Lucy is trying to convince me that those two are sweet on each other."

Peter shed his coat on the sofa and joined them at the window. Lucy handed him a blanket and he wrapped it around himself. Peter peered out the window. Eustace had gotten free and was now trying to cover her face in mud. He looked like one of those illustrations from America, the ones with Cowboys and Indians covered in warpaint.

"I'd bet fifteen pounds that he'll marry her." Peter said.

Edmund threw his hands up in the air. "What do you two see that I don't?"

Peter grinned and tousled his brothers hair. "C'mon Ed. We saw enough weddings in Narnia."

Edmund swatted Peter's hands away and scowled. He ran his hands through his hair, attempting to comb it back to its original state. "That means nothing to me."

"What he means is that they have a certain look," Lucy clarified. She turned to her older brother. "Right?"

Peter nodded. "It's all in the eyes."

"The eyes." Edmund said blankly.

"You know," Peter said. "When they look at each other as if they're the only ones alive. Like no law or any sort of rules can hold them back."

Edmund folded his arms. "You're claiming that Jill and Scrubb look at each other like that."

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "What, do you want proof or something?"

"Maybe I do. This is our friends we're talking about."

"Fine. Remember last Christmas?"

Edmund did remember last Christmas. Rotten weather, but the company was good. He'd gotten a lot of socks and Jill and Scrubb had pummeled him with snowballs until his face had gone numb from the cold. "What of it?"

"Susan hung up some mistletoe halfway through the party. I found our two friends out there loitering under it." Lucy finished. "You should have seen their faces."

"Ew."

"Not like that, silly. I meant when I told them to look up. Eustace looked like a ripe tomato."

He remembered that. Jill had squeezed past him in the hallway that night. Eustace had nearly crashed into him, trying to catch up to her. He'd always wondered how that conversation had ended.

"So?"

"She only comes to visit when Scrubb is here." Peter added.

"He is the one she met first." Edmund reminded them.

Lucy held up her fingers and began to count off on them. "One, they have similar interests. Two, they both have the most chances of going to Narnia together. Three, they look cute together. Four, they share many inside jokes. Five, how could they not fall for eachother?"

"Those still aren't-" Edmund began to speak and Lucy cut him off.

"Oh, why do you care anyways?" She paused and studied him. "Do you like her instead?"

Edmund shook his head. "Don't be silly. I just don't want to ruin their friendship."

"They've already ruined it themselves." Peter's words drew their attention back to the scene outside.

They stood frozen in the rain. His hands gripped her elbows, their bodies inches a part. Waiting for someone to make the first move.

Before they could stop him, Edmund yanked up the window. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he leaned out and yelled. "Just kiss her already!"

Eustace jerked his head up, staring open mouthed in horror at his friends. Jill's face reddened and she ducked her head, pivoting away from him. Eustace heistated. Edmund held his breath. Maybe they all were wrong. Maybe he had actually been right for once and they were just only friends and-

Jill looked up at Eustace, her mouth open in a round 'O' shape. She said something to him and his face changed. He bent his head and kissed her.

Edmund shut the window and shook his hair, sending water flying into his siblings faces. "And that, my dear siblings, is how you set your friends up."

* * *

This was really fun to write. It took a while, and I don't think I quite succeeded in getting into Edmunds head, but it was fun. (And for the life of me, I couldn't remember if the cousins called Eustace 'Scrubb' or not. I knew Pole did, but I can't remember. If anyone knows, please tell me! :) )

Pole and Scrubb deserve so much love and writing this really took me back to my childhood.

Have a lovely day! :)


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